Tales of the Heart
by Fishyputnam
Summary: Two people from opposing races start out on a journey at the same time, each looking for answers. An eighteen year old Human male with a strange ability to cast Magic, an ability lost long ago to humans. As well as the seventeen year old purple haired female Elf with a cocky attitude. They both set out looking for answers, looking for themselves. Do they find it, or something more?
1. Prologue

**Tales of The Heart**

**Prologue**

**_"The hardest thing about life is the first step needed to start it"_**

"Our world, Galese, is filled with beautiful creatures. All with their own unique lifestyle. Today, we shall go over a creature that baffles scientists even today. Slimes. Slimes usually travel in packs, or swarms as they are referred to, and swallow up their prey without a single thought as to sparing the harmless creature. Their diet usually consist of whatever happens to be nearby. Rabbits seem to be the favorite around here."A female teacher, Human by the looks of it, stood in front of her classroom of two dozen kids, all of which are also human. Half of them were sleeping, or looking out the window idly, or something else their bored minds are doing in search of some form of entertainment. The kids' ages seem to be variable, from eleven to possibly twenty sometimes.

"Class!"the teacher yelled, slamming a wooden stick on her also wooden desk which cause a loud 'smack' noise that woke up those who were sleeping "Now..hmm.. Ah Chris!" the teacher called out to a boy in the front row "Since you seem to be overly interested in this topic, how about you answer this question. What are Slimes?"The teacher asked

He had dark brown hair with blue-gray eyes and was wearing something akin to a villagers clothing, but it seemed to be handmade and unique somehow. He was looking like he was eighteen, possibly nineteen. The young man looked up at the teacher with groggy eyes from having been sleeping when he was so rudely awakened _'Tsk! Of course, would call on me. Typical Mrs Hammond.'_The boy thought to himself before clearing his throat "Slimes are monsters not any 'beautiful creature', Mrs Hammond. They attack in large swarms. But they aren't very smart."Chris answered with a yawn following afterwards

"Yes Chris, that is good enough. Slimes can come in many shapes, sizes, colors and types. They are very adaptable creatures. Now turn your books to page-"Mrs Hammond was about to say before screaming was heard outside the small schoolhouse they were currently being imprisoned in "Stay here children. I will go see what is going on in this village."Mrs Hammond huffed, on top of being the school teacher of Biology she is also the self-appointed 'mayor' of the little village of Verma. She rushed out of the room like a bat out of hell.

The children around Chris started chatting up a storm over the scream they all heard

"W-What do you think is going on?"A little blonde girl in the corner asked sheepishly

"I bet we're being attacked! Why else would people be screamin' like they seen death itself?"A blonde boy sitting next to the sheepish girl said, obviously her twin brother

"Well they could've been looking at your ugly mug Jason." another boy said to him

"Calm down Jasmine, I am sure that everything is just fine."A much taller and older girl about fifteen said as she tried to calm down the eleven year old girl

"You think so Carly? Then how about you go out there and check?"

"Because Mrs Hammond said to stay in the school moron. Remember last time Chris disobeyed her? Not a pleasant sight, and we weren't the ones being paddled!"

"What about you Chris? You're not a chicken like Carly are you?"

Chris heard his name being called and stood up to look at the eleven year old, Jason, and sigh with a shake of his head "Well it's about time I left anyway. But Carly is right, stay here. You are too young to be walking around in a potentially dangerous situation. None of you have passed your Right. Therefore, none of you can wield a weapon."Chris said before picking up his sword from the rack he put it on this morning, weapons weren't allowed in school, and headed towards the door when he heard screaming behind him

"Ahh! What is that thing!?"Chris heard Carly scream, but it was followed by a much more high pitched scream that no doubt belonged to Jasmine which was further followedd by an orchesta of shouts and screams. The commotion made Chris turn around and rush into the room where he seen a group of three monsters that looked Human, but were so obviously not because of their pitch black skin with their veins, which were very white compared to the surrounding black skin, seemed to be just a very thin layer beneath their skins so it was clearly visible. The Human-esque monsters were lumbering slowly towards the group of children who were huddled in a corner with Carly standing in front "Chris! You're the oldest! Do something! Quickly!"Carly demanded

"Quickly? Carly, they're moving a mile an hour. Nevermind, I'll distract it just get the others out of the school. Hurry!"Chris said as he did his signature un-sheathing, which was to have his sword backward in his hand and disengage the button lock he had and swing his sword towards the mysterious monster. This caused his sword sheath to hit one of the monsters in the head and made the attention of the entire group focus on Chris as a danger "That's right. Over here!"Chris said, running to a corner opposite of the door so that the other kids can get away safely. Once Carly had run out of sight Chris was able focus on the lumbering figures in front of him "Let's begin!"

**-Outside the village-**

"Commander! Verma is under attack by them! It's just a couple of minutes south of here."A young man said on foot, wielding a standard spear with a flag attached to it. It was an orange flag with the drawing of a lion on it

"So that's where they were. Hurry men! We must save that village! I said MOVE IT!"The commander said. He was wearing a helmet over his face and his armor was a silver that reflected the rays from the sun a bit too well.

**-Back into the village-**

Carly was trying to keep the children safe, but they were everywhere. They were soon cornered in between two building with Carly in front of them, being second oldest only to Chris and thus responsible for the group right then "G-Get back!"Carly yelled at the monsters in front of her. 'There's gotta be twenty of them!' she thought to herself They looked human, but they had pitch black skin and they had their blood-veins on the outside of their skin, and they were pure white.

Carly heard the stamping of hooves and but a moment later the black-skinned monsters were falling left and right. It was a minute later until the group of monsters, which Carly had severely over-estimated the numbers of as it was only five of them, were lying dead on the ground. "Are you children alright?"The commander asked, wielding a golden spear atop his warhorse, which had the same annoyingly reflective armor he was, and she gave a happy whinny

"Y-Yes sir. T-Thank you. Who are you?"Carly asked, then shook her head

"There will be time for introductions later little miss. What happened here?"the commander asked his platoon was dispatching the strange monsters in the village while he was assessing the situation

"I-I don't really know sir. We were just in class when we heard a scream, our teacher went to investigate. A few minutes later we were attacked by...by one of them."Carly said then gasped "S-Sir! You have to help! There's another one of us back in the school, he stayed back to fight off the monsters while we escaped. Please go save him!"Carly pleaded, just now remembering about Chris "The school house is just down the street there."Carly said, trying to calm down enough to give useful information that might save Chris' life instead of squealing like a pig at the butchers

"I see. Calm down young lady. I'll save your friend."the knight said as he galloped off to do his knightly duty of saving the weak

**-Back to the school-**

"Let's begin!"Chris shouted at the monsters as he charged at them and began slashing wildly which worked take down one of the tree, but it just immediately got back up again. Chris' wild charge had managed to get him more room, enough to let him slash twice horizontally which created two slashes in the air which Chris punched with his right fist.

_"Bear Claw!"_

The shock-waves raced towards the previously injured monster which cut it violently in half. The other two monsters never stopped progressing towards Chris, not even seeming to care that one of their own was just killed in front of them. "What are these things?"Chris asked himself, his self-taught swordsmanship was just barely enough to kill one "T-These things are tough."the man added with a couple light pants following afterwards from his use of his single Arte

"It's a good thing these things are slow. I'd likely be dead otherwise."Chris said with a growl towards his enemy as he charged towards the monsters, stabbing one in the stomach followed by a leap over the stabbed one and the other. Chris kicked the second monster back onto the other one, impaling him on the basic sword too "I-I always have wanted to try that on something moving. Let's finish this!"Chris called out as he held out his left hand and a red glyph formed around his feet. Red balls of matter were floating from the glyph underneath his feet as he began chanting

_'__Oh explosive hellfire...Begone! Fire Ball!'_

Chris shouted, a single ball of blazing fire shot from his fingertips at the impaled monsters. They didn't even scream as they were burnt alive.

Chris went over and pulled his sword out of the two burnt corpses and looked it over. It was left unscathed by the fire that just burnt the monsters. Chris heard a clapping behind him which made him turn around instantly with his sword pointed at the newcomer in annoyingly reflective armor.

"That was impressive my boy! I've yet to see a Human, and just a boy no less, use magic before."The knight said, his spear was leaning against the wall as if he had been watching the entire time

"Who are you and why didn't you help me out?!"Chris asked, angry that the newcomer hadn't helped him when he could've easily had fallen right then and there

"I am Commander General Urick of the Malbian Army."Urick said when he took off his helmet to reveal brushed red hair and jade-green eyes "As to your second question, I would've helped had you needed it. It seemed like you had it all under control however. You are quite well skilled with a blade, who taught you?"Urick asked

"There's no time for that. These things have got to be everywhere by now! I have to go help Carly and the others."Chris grumbled at the knight angrily as he walked past the hulking man in armor and out the door.

"Well he is certainly driven. Stubborn too. Oh well."Knight Urick said as he grabbed his spear and walked outside where he seen Chris was talking to another knight

"Let me guess, you're going to stop me because there are monsters out here right? Well shove off, I can take care of myself just fine without you."Chris said, but the other knight grabbed his arm and shook his head silently

"Sir Gregor, you may release him. He can take care of himself."Urick said to the knight, Gregor, and Gregor released the village boy which solicited a growl from the young man "How goes the purification of the enemy?"Urick asked once more

"Commander! *salute* The enemy has been defeated. Sir Furor and his men are cleaning up the stragglers. I have also taken it upon me to escort the villagers back to their homes. Nobody was seriously hurt, thankfully we got here in time mi'lord."

"Good. Good. You go join up with Furor and aid in his task."

"Sir yes sir!"Gregor said with another salute before running, as much as he could anyway as he seemed to be much 'heftier' then Urick was

Urick looked over at Chris who was just standing by "You did well by yourself young man. You have a name, if I am not mistaken. What is it?"Urick asked, offering his hand to the young man who took it

"I guess I should thank you for saving everyone. I'm Chris."the young brown haired man said with a smile

"It is our duty, Chris."Urick said with a warm smile "Leave the cleanup duty to us knights. You just go on home to see if your folks are okay."

"I will. Good-bye Sir Urick."Chris said before turning around and sheathing his weapon before heading down the street and out of town

**-A small cottage just outside the village of Verma-**

It was dark by the time he got to a little cottage with a small garden in the front yard. He hopped over the knee-high gate andddd opened the front door "Ma! I'm home!"Chris shouted once he stepped through the front door and took off his shoes, he would get smacked if he tracked dirt into the house. The house was small, but quaint. Chris had grown up in this house, he knew every inch of it. This was home to him, he felt the most safe and happy here. He looked down the hall to look at the flight of stairs when he heard quick footsteps down them

"Oh Chris you're alright!"Chris' mother said, having long flowing blonde hair and brown eyes, and she wrapped her arms around her sons body in a hug "I heard what happened! Are you alright? Are you hurt? I heard there were black-skinned monsters attacking the village!"she asked frantically looking over her sons body for any blood

"Ma! Calm down alright. I'm fine. See? *Turns around in a full circle* I'm just fine Ma."Chris said to calm his mother "But I am a bit tired."Chris said with a yawn

"Okay. Dinner is at the table. Let's go eat first before bed."

"Yes ma'am."Chris said, walking to the table and he began eating his dinner which consisted of rabbit. Chris' mother could sense something was wrong with her child, and she brought it up to him "I-It's noth-*sigh* I'm just thinking about what happened today in the village. It doesn't feel like I did ANY of that, but I did no matter how alien it feels to me. I didn't even recognize myself in the mirror this morning!"Chris said, getting a bit depressed now that he thought of it

"Ahh. I know the problem you're having sweetie. You're a teenager that is about to become a full-fledged man. You're just confused because your body is acting like a man, but your mind is still that of a boy. You've just lost yourself. It happens to everyone, boy or girl."

"Then how do I 'find myself' then?"Chris asked

"I can't answer that one for you, sweetie. It's different for everyone. Only you can answer that question. Give it a little thought tonight, and tell me in the morning."Chris' mother said with a smile

Chris smiled and stood up from the table "I will. Thanks Ma. Night."Chris said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before going up the stairs his mother had just come down from and to his room at the very top. It was a basic room of a teenager his age. AKA nothing. It was pretty bare. He barely spent enough time in here to sleep, forget decorating.

The teenager flopped onto his bed and looked up at the ceiling above him which was illuminated by torchlight. 'Wow. Today was one hell of a day. It wasn't my first fight. But it was my first against something so tough. And so...human. What were those things anyway?'Chris asked himself. His mind playing and replaying the events of that day over and over again, trying to think of what those were. And what he did to burn them. 'Urick said it was 'Magic' but he must been wrong. I'm a Human and Humans can't cast magic...'Chris said to himself in his thoughts 'Who the hell am I?' were Chris' final thoughts before falling into a deep slumber with his dreams of those strange monsters and a strange purple-haired woman running beside him, charging at the monsters with him

**-Early the next morning-**

Chris was up early the next morning when his mother came into the kitchen and gasped "Chris? What are you doing up so early? You are never awake before noon on a weekend."Chris' mother said as she went over to the table to find food already on the table. Okay. Now she was beginning to worry. Chris NEVER makes breakfast. "Chris..? What's wrong sweetie?"she asked with increasing worry

"Nothing's wrong Ma. I've just made my decision. I know how to 'find myself'. I'm going on an adventure around the world. Perhaps when I come back, I'll be 'myself'."Chris said and looked away from his mother's gaze. He expected his mother to blow up on him for even suggesting that he leave on an adventure. He was waiting for the slap to the face. But it never came. He slowly opened his eyes to see his mother with tears in her eyes

"I knew this day would come eventually. Your father always said it would someday."Ma said with a small mirthful giggle "I'll let you go. I'll set you free. When you need to see...When you find you, you are always welcome to come back to me Chris. I'll keep your things right where you left them. I'll be here for you."Ma said with a smile

Chris was shocked "I-I...Thank you Ma. I-I don't know what else to say."Chris sai with a bit of a blush, he had arguments and counter arguments prepared for the fight that he was sure would ensue.

"I know you already have your things packed. But before you leave, your father wanted me to give this to you before you left."Ma said, leaving the kitchen for just a moment. Chris went upstairs to grab the small bag he's packed and a small leather pouch containing what little Gald he's gotten from the monsters he's fought over the years. He put it underneath his shirt before going back downstairs to find his mother waiting by the door with a sword in her hand. The sword was with silver with weird letters written on both sides of the blade, but different lettering on each side. to Chris it was pure chicken-scratch, nothing he could read. "This is your fathers family heirloom, passed down for hundreds of years. He always wanted to pass this to you, his only son."Ma said as she passed the sword to Chris and used a piece of cloth to wipe her eyes

"Wow! This is beautiful! Thanks Ma."Chris said smiling, grabbing the sheath that matched the weapon, but with a ruby near the hilt instead of more chicken scratch, he sheathed the weapon and put it behind his legs, just a bit under his rump, where he always held his weapon

"Please be careful Chris. Have fun! That is what is perhaps the second most important thing on a journey."Chris' mother said as Chris opened the door to the outside world he would finally be exploring

"Of course Ma. I'll be just fine. There isn't anything in this world I can't handle."Chris says with a smile as he turned to leave, opening the gate this time and going through it, closing it behind him, before taking off in a dead run. Destination? He didn't really have one. His heart seemed to be urging him in this direction. He had no idea what was in store for him on this journey, but he was going to meet it head-on!

* * *

**-The Elven Capital, Suelyn-**

'Malbia. I grew up with people preaching to me about it. It was my nations worst enemy. We were always at war. Because of this my kind, Elves, are raised with racism instilled in their heads. It's basically in our blood now. I guess I got the weirdo blood then. Sure, I have never met a Human before, but that's exactly why I can't hate them.'

"Aella! Come answer your door this instant!"A female voice screamed from Aella's front door. "Keep your panties on! I'll be there in a second!"Aella yelled back through the door however she was MUCH louder then the maid on the other side.

Aella was relatively tall for a female Elf, about 5'4 and weighing a little more then a hundred pounds. (Though you'll never hear her say that) She has long purple hair that went a bit below her shoulder blades. She has long shaped legs which match her fighting style. Hit 'em quick, hit 'em hard before they get the chance to pay her back for it. Though she hasn't actually hit anything living yet.

Aella sighed as she put a formal outfit on hurriedly before going and opening the door and a short pudgy maid walked in with a stick with feathers at the end "Ms. Aella, what do you do in here that you must lock everyone else out all the time?"The maid asked, trying to act nice now which didn't fool the purple haired Elf

"None of your damn business, that's what."Aella huffed before leaving the room quickly, her rapier hidden in her wardrobe so that the snoopy maids didn't find it "Well okay, oh yes Ms Aella! Your teacher calls you to his study!"The maid calls down the hall at the fleeting purple haired elf before returning to her work with a low grumble about Aella being a brat or something along those lines

"Oh. Great. That makes this day absolutely perfect. I guess I better go see what opinion he'd like to shove into my ears this time."Aella said with a hint of a growl as she made her way to her teachers study on the other-side of a small courtyard

"There you are Aella. Your father...instructed me to teach you more about the war between us, Liqians and the Malbian army in particular. The war started a good time before you were born, about fifty years to the day I believe. It started over a petty skirmish between idiots, on both sides, not being able to settle a small dispute. But it quickly escalated when the Humans started to invade our country. They razed a couple small villages, Yus (Yoos), Synos (Sin-os), and modern-day Tras, in their first invasion-"The teacher continued on like that for what seemed like forever to Aella before he finally stopped "Aella? Hello? You're free to go now you know."The teacher said to her

"Gee thanks."Aella grumbled before leaving the study and walking back to her room "Gods, I hate how everyone is so racist against Humans. Most of them never seen one before! Okay, well neither have I, but still. I don't understand why people hate Humans without even seeing one!"Aella said quietly to herself on her way back to her room for more rapier practice then sleep. A cough nearby alerted Aella that someone had her and she knew exactly who as she turned to face her mother. Purple hair just like hers but was much more kind then Aella was "M-Mother?!"Aella gasped, a blush forming on her face _'Did she hear everything? Oh no...This isn't going to be a fun night afterall...'_Aella thought to herself as she seen her fun night plans dashed

"Not all Elves hate Humans my dear, just most. But you are right, not many people have even seen a Human outside of a book. I can't blame you for being frustrated. You always were a stubborn girl. I knew everyone trying to force their racism upon you would be stonewalled. But life is about attaining knowledge and becoming ever wiser about the world around you. If you don't believe what everyone says, then perhaps it is time for you to undertake a journey to find that answer for yourself, my daughter."Aella's mother said with a warm smile

Aella was caught off guard y everything her mother had said "I-I...Uhm...O-Okay. Yes ma'am."Aella said by instinct, she said basically the same thing every-time she's gotten in trouble since she can first talk

"Aella, focus yourself. Yes, I did just suggest that my oldest daughter leave for a dangerous adventure. Even now I regret making this choice, but I know it is for the best. For you."

"B-But what about Father? He'll be pissed!"Aella said, knowing full well her fathers anger when something goes on without his consent

"Don't you worry about your father. I'll deal with him. Don't worry sweetie. Now go, I know you have a sword in your wardrobe so go get it."Aella's mother said with a smile before turning and walking away, leaving behind a stunned Aella

Aella walked to her room deep in thought the entire time 'How had she known about my rapier? Is this a trap of some kind to get me in loads of trouble? I've gotta be careful about this one.'Aella thought as she packed her things, whether it was a trap or not she was going to try. She's always dreamed of going on an adventure. Exploring ruins, caves, mountain passes, and everything in between. "Okay. That's everything. I got my chest-plate my adventurers kit and a couple Apple Gels. Just in case."Aella said to herself before leaving out of the house and into the streets of her hometown and towards the front gate of the city without saying goodbye to her family. She would send a letter to her mother once she got far enough away to be safe.

**-At Suelyn's Front Gate-**

Aella was looking at the front gate, closed because it was night-time and thus dangerous. She only seen one guard standing in front of the gate, no archers or anything. Just the sole guard. She walked up close to make sure she was right before she tried to crawl up the gate to get out

"You could've just asked ya know?"The guard called out to the elf "You must be Aella Iantha correct? I got a message from your mother saying you'd be coming this way. Come on down, I'll open the gate for you."

"Um...Okay."Aella said before jumping back down to let the guard open the gate for her. She then felt something touch her right hand so she looked down to see her mothers hand pressing a small leather satchel to her hand "This is for you Aella, its a little bit of Gald I have been saving up for you since you were little. Take care Aella, and please stay safe."Her mother said with a tear in her eye

"Okay Mother, I'll be fine. Seriously I will. Don't worry about me. I'll be back."Aella says with a cheerful smile to try to cheer her mother up before turning and walking into the pitch blackness of the night. _'_This is the start of my journey. Of course, I don't have a sodding clue where I'm going. Oh well, I'll just keep walking until I see a Human. Hopefully they don't get smart and try to attack me! That'll be their last mistake!'

* * *

Well there you have it, the Prologues for both of the main characters. Chris and Aella. I took down the previous Prologue so that I could redo it and add in Aella. I make no promises as to when the next chapter will be released, but we can all hope soon right? It's not that I'm all that busy (okay I am but that's besides the point) I just can't find motivation to put anything down.

(My 'd' key being broken isn't helping matters. I have to copy and paste every single 'd' you see in the story. So if a word looks weird, add that key somewhere and it might make sense.)

If you enjoyed what you've read so far, while not leave a review to tell me what you like/dislike? A little encouragement can go a long way to get me motivated to write another chapter quicker.


	2. The Meeting

**_Tales of the Heart_**

**_Arc I|Chapter 1|The Meeting_**

**_"Throw caution to the wind and just do it"- Carrie Underwood_**

'So this is what human villages look like. They don't look too different from elven villages, at all actually.'Aella thought to herself as she walked through a small village in the middle of a dense and lush forest. She had cloth wrapped around everything but her eyes in order to hide her elven ears as she was sure they wouldn't help her any right then. She crossed what seemed to be a plaza, seeing as there were grey stones all aligned to form a giant circle in the middle of town, to get to what she had deemed to be the Inn of this village, thanks to the villagers who helped point the way.

* * *

Chris was in his room at a strange, but homely, little Inn called 'The Green Goose'. He was just staring out the window since he was having hard time sleeping this night "I've been having trouble getting to sleep lately. What is the problem now, huh body?"Chris asked with a sigh, obviously not expecting an answer so he was shocked when he got one but not from his body

"Your natural magic and magic from that bracelet thing you're wearing is conflicting with each other."A voice said, seemingly coming from the window when a head poked over the overhang covering the window, to protect it from rain getting into the room. The head was covered by a cloak so it wasn't easy to tell what the cloak was hiding but Chris could see shining golden eyes

Chris stood up and drew his blade, pointing it at the window "Who are you?!"Chris asked while taking a protective stance against the being peeking over the overhang

"Now now boy, put that thing down before you hurt someone with it! No magic either, you can't control it. Don't want this poor little town burning down do you?"The voice asked with a mischievous grin hidden by the shadows covering his face, but Chris could just feel it was there. This guy was far too happy with himself. But he knew that a figt would attract attention he didn't want right then so he sheathed his blade and looked over at his visitor

"Fine. Tell me who you are and how you know me."Chris said with his arms crossed, feigning impatience but was actually really curious for the answers this man could give him

"Haha! Straight to the point, I can understand why. But I can't just repeat your life story while hanging over the side of a building now can I? Why don't you meet me in the forest in say...A half hour? Good! It's a date then, see you later! Bye-bye for now!"The voice said before disappearing just as quickly as he appeared

"Grr...This guy is seriously irritating. But I need those answers. This is obviously a trap of some sort, probably want this bracelet thing I found in my pack. Mother must've packed it. Oh well, no time now. I have to get those answers, trap or no."Chris said as he began to prepare for the obvious trap by packing a few Apple Gels with him

* * *

"The Green Goose. Humans have green geese? I would very much like to see that!"Aella said softly to herself and hurrying in, excited to see a green goose but soon figured out that there was no such thing. Only other travelers, apparent by their clothing and giant leather sacks near their feet, and a giant hulk of a woman who she automatically assumed was the barkeep and innkeeper both. Aella walked up to her "I need a room for the night."Aella said in a gruff voice, trying to sound as male as she could while still being slightly believable

"Sorry sir, we ran out of rooms just an hour ago."The Innkeeper said with a look of sorrow on her face, sorrowful over the loss of Gil Aella was sure

"He may stay in my room then. I won't be using it tonight."A voice from behind Aella said which made her turn around and her hand immediately went for a dagger she had hidden in her coat. The mystery guest was certainly taller then she was, but not by a whole lot. Seven inches she was willing to wager. He had dark brown hair and blue-gray eyes with a silver scabbard at his hip, and a jeweled handle poking out of the blade obviously sheathed inside and a bright yellow bracelet wrapped around his left wrist

"Well alright then Chris. If you say so. Where might you be off to so late at night?"The Innkeeper said to the stranger, Chris obviously

"Oh, I just remembered my friend wanted to meet him tonight. I've got to leave now if I plan on being there before him. I'll be back by morning."Chris said smiling

"Okay, well try to be careful love, Light knows what roams outside those gates at night."The Innkeeper said with a warm smile to which Chris nodded and turned to leave

"I'll be fine. Thank you for the advice, I will stay close."Chris said and without another word he left the Inn where Aella had just entered

Aella looked over to the Innkeeper "What was that about?"Aella asked curiously

"Truthfully, I haven't a clue. The boy has been here for a month, saying he's been looking for something., Never did mention a friend though. The monsters around here are especially viscious this season, and they are normally agressive during the night, but I feel like that young man can handle himself just fine. And don't you worry, we're safe in this village. The Town Guard are no slouches when it comes to protecting this village. Just about everything else however..."The innkeeper said as a joke but Aella wasn't much in a humorous mood, she just nodded at the innkeeper "Ahh yes, here's the key to Chris' room then. It's up the stairs, first door on the right. Sleep well."she said. Aella headed up the stairs and to hte first room on the left as the innkeeper said and went into the almost depressingly normal Inn room and set her things down on the bed and locked the door behind her

"Well that was a lucky break. At least a get a bed to sleep in. Now I can finally get this shirt off my face, it makes it hotter then hell even in fall!"Aella said as she pulled the cloth off of her face and threw it off to the side and took off her armor, gently setting it against the wall close to her bed along with her rapier. She stretched out her body then sat down at the foot of the bed and looked over out the window "It's been three months since I left Suelyn. I wonder if Father has even noticed I am gone yet? I should probably write Mother a letter, telling her I am well and whatever."Aella said as she took out a piece of parchment and a bottle of ink as well as a feather and began writing

* * *

Chris had hopped over the town gate, even though that was quite a drop over the wall he found that landing in a tree then climbing down was less painful and no broken bones. After getting over the wall he made his way into the forest 'How am I supposed to find the dastard in this forest? This place is just screaming 'Hey i'm a trap guys! Come over here!' but I have to walk into it regardless. Just gotta be careful with how I handle this, my magic is a bit uhm...reckless."Chris said to himself when he seen a glint of light in front of him and figured that would be his mystery guest from before. He went over and sure enough, he could see a man hanging upside down from a tree with a newly lit bonfire below him

"Ahh! You actually came! Didn't think you would. Don't worry about, I'm not out for your bracelet. It is useless to me. Now come, sit! Sit! It'll take a while to answer your questions, I'm thinking!"The voice said, pulling back his hood, which magically stayed up even though gravity even tough gravity should've had it's way with it. The man turned out to have bright orange hair and golden eyes, his features were that of a man in his mid thirties.

Chris nodded and cautiously sat down next to the bonfire on the opposite side of the man "So what's your name?"Chris asked for a third time since he's met this 'friend' of his

"Ahh my name? Oh let's see here... Silver should do for now. I quite like how silver shines, you see. Far better then gold, in my honest opinion."Silver answered with a overly-friendly grin

"Okay, 'Silver', how do you know me?"Chris asked, still on edge in case this is an attack knowing that the moment he put his guard down was the moment he joined his fathers in the afterlife

"How can I not? The little Human mage that has been poking around looking for answers! Things like that tend to travel around fast m'boy. Plus, people in my line of work deal in the exchange of juicy tidbits such as this! So I thought I might help ya out, for free this time. Everyone gets one, after-all."Silver said in an overly happy tone of voice

'People in his line of work? 'Help' me out? Who the hell is this guy? I can't tell if this guy is acting or if he is genuinely annoying.'Chris thought to himself with a mental sigh following afterwards "So I get one question for free, right? How about telling me where to find the 'Ruins of Karzaleth'? I've been told it was just discovered recently in this area and it is supposedly from a very ancient time. Maybe it has something about humans being born with magic or something."Chris said

"Ruins of Karzaleth huh? Well you just come out of the gate swinging! I like that! It's usually a pretty hefty price, but I suppose I can give it to you for free. It's to the south of here, nestled in nicely between two large hills. Entrance should be fairly easy to find, as I hear it. But the catch is nobody knows how to open it."Silver said with a grin

"South buried between two hills huh? Got it. Thanks, 'Silver'. I appreciate the help."Chris said with a smile

"Ahh, see now that is some genuine appreciation for a good deed. That almost makes me want to quit my job. But I like gold more then smiles. Anyway, I think you should probably prepare yourself. I hear something in the woods. A lot of somethings. Ta ta now!"Silver said as he swung himself into a tree above Chris and disappeared

"Huh?"Chris asked as he stood up quickly then it all happened so fast he barely knew what happened. A weird human looking beast with white veins and pitch black veins appeared out of the thick treeline around Chris and was cut down in an instant by Chris unsheathing his blade and cutting them apart before he jumped closer to the fire with his left hand, his sword hand, outstretched towards the curtain of night hiding his foes 'I-It's those things from before! By the Light, why are they here too?!"Chris asked as he cut more down but he could see more and more of the beasts coming. Every one he cut down, two took its place in an instant "Okay. Well this obviously isn't working. Magic worked last time, surely it's going to work this time too...Right?"Chris asked himself, till not sure of himself as he began casting. His sword was pointing to the ground when a magical glyph of a fiery red color formed around his feet, seemingly drawing itself, and flecks of red mana rising from the circle and from the man casting

* * *

_'Dear mother,_

_This is Aella, I am doing well, I have made it to the human village of 'Lushwood' or whatever. I like adventuring, it is really fun. Though I could live without sleeping on the ground, I guess you have to take the good with the bad. I have met Humans, but they do not know that I am an Elf so I don't know if Humans really hate Elves or not. I'm-'_

Aella was writing and nearly almost buried in her thoughts when something knocked her out of it. A giant... well 'boom' was the only word Aella could think of to explain it. She came back to the real world to realize the chaos around her. From the window were screams, both of terror and of what she thought were orders. "What the hell is going on out there?!"Aella asked as she hurriedly put on her cuirass once more and grabbed her rapier, as well as wrapping the cloth around her head once more before running out to the main gate of the village to see just how hectic it was.

"Hurry up men! Cover the gates! They are coming!"One man on the stone wall that surrounded the entirety of the village called to the men, both to those on the wall and those trying to open the gate "Release archers!"He shouted and simultaneously dozens of archers let loose their shafts. 'Why the hell are they opening the gate if they are getting attacked? That doesn't make any sense, are Humans truly that stupid?'Aella thought

Aella shook herself out of watching the humans work and ran to the wall and climbed up a nearby ladder, making sure to stay out of the way, to see what they were shooting at "What the hell are those things?"Aella said to herself. What she saw was something she's never seen before, figures which were pitch black and veins that were clearly visible glowed white in the pitch blackness of night.

Another explosion sounded in the distance. The beings were walking away from the walls, seemingly not interested in the village at all anymore. Instead they all turned around at the same moment and began going back into the direction of the explosion as if they were all one being instead a giant horde.

"We do not know ourselves adventurer. But it seems they are retreating tonight."The leader said to Aella

"What are they Sir Bumon? And why are they retreating when they only just attacked?!"The guards asked the leader as if expecting him to answer

"I am not sure. I have never seen them before. I wouldn't count your lucky stars yet men! Stay vigilant! This may yet be a ruse to lower our guard!"Sir Bumon barked, all the Guards then stiffened and began scanning the treeline, each one hiding their fear; That something else was happening or going to happen very soon

* * *

Chris was running through the forest with sword in hand when he heard a crunch of a stick behind him, he instantly turned around and pointed his sword in the direction the sound came and his instincts took over his sword hand and he swung, deftly cutting off the beasts head before it could move to attack Chris. He heard yet another stick crunch underneath the feet of a monster

Chris looked around to see dozens of white veins in the trees around him "Shoot. There are a lot. Too many actually, I can't fight them all. I have to keep running."Chris said to himself before sheathing his blaze and took off running into the forest. He ran and ran until he couldn't run anymore. He stopped by a tree to catch his breath and his surroundings "I-I lost them. There were a lot of them, but I don't think they walk very fast."Chris said to himself then heard a low moan behind him, he turned and swung in the same moment. Cutting off the head of yet another. Chris seen that the hoards of the monsters were behind him once again.

"Come on, there CAN'T be more of you?! Seriously! What the hell are you anyway?"Chris asked as he cut the heads off of two of the beings as they poured through the trees, surrounding Chris quickly "Nevermind that. You seem to die just as easily as anything else. Come on!"Chris shouted as he took a pose, his sword pointing towards the ground and a crimson glyph appeared below his feet and bits of red mana began flowing from the glyph.

_"O' explosive hellfire...Fire Ball!"_Chris shouted, two balls of molten fire appeared right above his head then shot out in front of Chris as he swung his hand in front of him. An explosion erupted as the Fire Balls made contact with a group of the black skinned beasts.

* * *

Another explosion sounded from the forest which sent tremors of fear through the soldiers and the villagers, Aella however wasn't scared for some reason. "You think someone out there is fighting them out there?"Aella asked, looking at Sir Bumon who also seemed to be calm despite the explosions

"That may very well be the case. Let the Light honor their soul warmly in its benevolent embrace for their selfless sacrifice."Sir Bumon said in a prayer for whoever may be out there

"Wait, you're going to leave them out there to die?! How could you, they're saving your village!"Aella shouted and made to jump over the wall

"No wait-!"An archer said and tried to grab for Aella but it was useless as she was quick and had already made it over the wall "It's dangerous..."the archer finished with a sigh and look of worry for the person he did not know

"Let him go. Keep your eyes on the treeline, those thing'll come back once they are done with them."Sir Bumon said, he didn't seem to shaken by the fact that there were people outside the walls with the monsters. They all watched as Aella's dark figure disappeared into the black of the treeline.

* * *

Chris was starting to pant from the amount of energy he was using just to keep these things at bay "W-Why are there so many of you this time around? Come on, answer me!"Chris shouted at the monsters, but to no avail. They just gave him an ice cold stare. All of them at once. Then Chris notice that they were no longer moving towards him any longer but just standing a dozen feet away from him, staring. "What the hell's your problem now? Huh?!"Chris asked then felt something pound the ground making a miniature earthquake that seemed to have startled the black skinned beasts out of their staring stupor. They all suddenly turned around at once and again walked off into the pitch blackness

"They're gone...? What the hell is going on around here?"Chris asked then another miniature earthquake. Then another. And another. More followed suit with each of them stronger then the last. 'Something is coming. Something huge.'Chris thought to himself and looked around finally he saw it. A pair of giant yellow eyes gleaming through the curtain of darkness.

The newest beast let out an horrifying roar that shook the forest itself, the trees nearest of it broke in half and crumbled to the ground leaving the moonlight to illuminate the monster and the soon-to-be battlefield. The beast was just like the human like creatures that just sauntered off, both creatures had the same lifeless look in their eyes. Though this monster was much much bigger then the human-like ones from earlier. The darkness of night didn't allow Chris to see all of the creatures features, just the outline of his body, his eyes, and the same white veins as the others from before.

"Of course. The little guys run off when a bigger player in the game shows up."Chris said softly to himself and charged at the giant with sword pointed at the beast, its blade glimmering in the moonlight reflection

* * *

"I know that those earthquakes were coming from around here somewhere. They can't be dead already could they? I'm not too late am I...?"Aella asked, wondering now if jumping over the wall was too hasty of a decision when suddenly she heard a loud couple thuds behind her then one final loud thud. She turned around to see the young man from before was bleeding badly but was slowly standing up with his blade in hand

"You think that'll kill me? Not yet dammit, i'm still in this game. Come on!"Chris shouted at the darkness when the giant appeared once again in front of Chris

"It's you!"Aella said, getting next to Chris with her rapier aimed at the giant as well

"H-Huh? Who're you? What are you doing here?"Chris asked then they both heard the sound of wind and jumped back, dodging the giant swinging it's fist down on the both of them "Nevermind, introductions can be saved till later. Right now I have some unfinished business with this guy here."Chris growled as he charged at the giant, swinging his blade at it's legs to try to get him down to one knee

Aella was more swift then the human male was so she climbed up a tree partway then jumped off of it, landing on the beasts back and stabbing her rapier into it's back. She swiftly withdrew her blade from the giants back and leaping of of it before it began thrashing around in pain "Yeah how'd that feel?!"Chris said with a smile on his face, blood was pouring down his right arm

"You're injured. We have to get you out of here. Quickly now, run!"Aella shouted at the young man, urgency in her voice. Human or no, she didn't want to see him die

"Y-You've got a point. No use dying here. But we can't lead this thing back to the village either. So we have to drive it off, or otherwise kill- Hey. Where'd it go?"Chris asked, looking around but didn't see a trace of the giant beast

"It was here just a minute ago. It couldn't have gotten away. Something that big has to make some sort of noise."Aella said, not noticing the disappearance of the monster either "Well it looks like it ran off or something. I don't care. Let's get you back to the village. You need a healer."Aella said, helping Chris back to the village while still staying on her toes in case that thing decided to come back

* * *

"Sur Bumon! Figures in the trees!"

Sir Bumon casually walked over to the archer who yelled at him, he looked over towards the trees and nodded "Indeed. Reloads your crossbows! Aim!"Bumon said raising his hand

"Stop! Hold fire!"Aella shouted, her and Chris walked into the light where the archers could see them. They could clearly see that Chris was bleeding and Aella had some blood on her as well, though they didn't know it was Chris' as well

"It's you again. Very good! Open the gates, hurry! I said get your asses to it!"Sir Bumon shouted, the guards working the gate **very** quickly got that gate open and moved Chris inside. Once he looked up to see his saviors face his world turned pitch black as blood loss finally took hold, making the boy pass out

* * *

Well that is it folks! Chapter 1 is done! Finally, I know. But I kept re-writing it over and over, I have three Chapter 1's (Chapter 1a, 1b, and 1c) so that's what took forever. anyway, it's finally done! Now I'm going to write the next chapters, which should be easier since this one has a solid direction which I can only d- *cough* *cough* I mean! I already have the next chapter ALL planned out.

Anyway, if you liked what I've written why don't you save it to your favorites so you get an e-mail every time I put up another chapter? Otherwise write a review telling me what you liked didn't like about the story, characters, setting, or my horrible writing! All feedback is appreciated so long as it isn't 'Boo you suck!' fifty times. At least come up with something original if you have to be a dick :)


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